High School Musical 4 set for Disney Channel return, now casting

10 years after the original High School Musical premiered, the Disney Channel is ready to return to East High with a new generation of Wildcats. That’s right, Disney has officially started the casting hunt for talented performers to star in “High School Musical 4.”

This will be a Disney Channel Original Movie (like 1 and 2) and not a theatrical release (like 3). Instead of original director and choreographer Kenny Ortega, Disney has attached Jeffrey Hornaday, who directed the recent DCOM hits “Teen Beach Movie” and “Teen Beach 2,” to both choreograph and direct.

Disney Channel President Gary Marsh told E! News, “High School Musical is part of Disney Channel’s DNA. It embodies all that we stand for. As a way of continuing to embrace that heritage, we’re excited to announce ‘the start of something new’ as we launch a search for a new class of East High Wildcats to star in a fourth installment of the ‘High School Musical’ franchise.”

Zach Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Colemen starred in the original “High School Musical” back in 2006. The group recently reunited for a 10-year anniversary special that aired on the Disney Channel. We have interviews with the cast and trivia in our own video below:

High School Musical was such a huge property for Disney spawning two sequels, spinoffs (Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure) and theme park tie ins. The 3rd movie went straight to theaters and was actually the biggest opening day for any musical film until it was topped by “Les Miserables” in 2012.